Rafael Leão is attracting attention from top clubs and the noise around his future at AC Milan is getting louder by the week.
The Portuguese winger is still under contract until 2028 and has a huge €175 million release clause, but that number no longer feels realistic in the current market.
Milan may publicly want to keep him, but they are now more open to creative offers than they were in the past, sources close to the agents industry have informed CaughtOffside.
Leão’s 2023 renewal included the €175m clause, but sources have increasingly suggested Milan would negotiate far below that figure if the right proposal arrives.
Man United are interested in the Portuguese star
Manchester United are one of the clubs most strongly linked.
United are exploring a player-plus-cash deal and could offer players such as Marcus Rashford, Joshua Zirkzee or Manuel Ugarte to lower the fee.
Leão is exactly the kind of player who gets big clubs excited. He is quick, powerful, stylish on the ball and capable of doing things that most wide forwards simply cannot.
When he is confident, he can carry the ball from deep, beat defenders in isolation and completely change the mood of a match.
That is why Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal have all been mentioned at different points.
United’s interest is particularly interesting because they need more explosion in attack.
Their forward line has had moments, but there is still a feeling that they lack a truly dominant left-sided threat who can scare defenders every week. Leão would bring that.
He is not a safe, tidy winger. He is unpredictable, and United could use more of that.
The issue is the price and the structure. Milan may not get anywhere near the €175m release clause, but they will still want a serious package.
Red Devils could offer a player to sweeten the deal
Milan could open talks from around €50m if a strong player is included. That is where Rashford, Zirkzee or Ugarte could become relevant.
Across Europe, Real Madrid and PSG have also been linked because both clubs are always alert when a player of Leão’s profile becomes even slightly available.
Bayern Munich have admired him in the past too, although previous reporting suggested the financial side made that difficult.
Barcelona being mentioned through intermediaries is not surprising either, but their finances would likely make any deal complicated unless Milan were extremely flexible.
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